There will be no residential garbage, recycling or yard waste collection within the Louisville Metro Urban Services District (former Louisville city limits) on Memorial Day, Monday May 25, 2015. Collection through the week will be delayed by one day because of the holiday.

Garbage pickup in St. Matthews will also be delayed because of the holiday.

Other District 9 residents who rely on private haulers for garbage, recycling and yard waste collection should consult those haulers about holiday collection schedules.

Also, Jefferson County recycling, hazardous waste and waste reduction facilities will be closed on Saturday May 23 in recognition of the holiday and closed on Monday as usual. A complete list of the sites is at louisvilleky.gov/government/public-works/services/recycling.

The 21st Subway Fresh Fit Hike, Bike & Paddle is on Monday, May 25 at Waterfront Park.  Paddlers will have a very unique experience with this year’s course. Paddlers will enter from the Harbor Lawn in Waterfront Park and paddle upstream to Towhead Island. The Ohio River will be closed to traffic giving paddlers the ability to cross the river to Southern Indiana. They will continue downstream to the 2nd Street Bridge and paddle back across the Ohio River to the Louisville side, ending at the Harbor Lawn. Paddling participants will launch their canoes or kayaks at the river ramp located at the Harbor Lawn of Waterfront Park. Paddlers can drop their boats off at the “Green” parking lot near River Road and Witherspoon Street from 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

For cyclists, a 15-mile route will roll through Old Louisville, down Southern Parkway and into Iroquois Park, one of Louisville’s signature Olmsted-designed Metro Parks. Turnoffs will provide options for cycling routes as short as two miles.

The hiking route, which is wheelchair-accessible, will allow walkers to explore downtown along Third St. before turning at York St. in front of the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. Walkers may bring dogs to participate in the hike, as long as the animal is on a leash and owners pick up waste during the walk as required by law.

Both the cycling and walking routes will be marked with signage and will have plenty of water stops to refill water bottles. The Louisville Bicycle Club is providing “bike captains” to help cyclists obey the rules of the road. “Bike doctors” will be in Waterfront Park before the ride and along the route to assist cyclists with any equipment problems.  Louisville Metro Police will provide traffic assistance at key intersections and the Louisville Metro EMS bicycle team will patrol the route.

More than 49 vendors and information booths will open at 8:30 a.m. at Waterfront Park.  There will also be free tours on the river in the large “Voyager Canoe.” Yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, Nia and Pickleball demonstrations will be offered along with group participation. 3,000 free T-shirts will be available for those arriving early and completing a brief survey. The Brain Injury Association will distribute 500 helmets to riders who don’t have one. Participants are encouraged to be “green” and bring their own water bottles which they will be able to fill in Waterfront and Iroquois Parks as part of Louisville Water’s Pure Tap To Go. For more information, go to hikebikeandpaddle.org.

The next D9 Community Conversation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, at the Clifton Center, 2117 Payne Street. Jessica Montgomery, Director of Animal Services, will give an update on that department’s activities and be available to answer questions. We also want to hear from you on any topics, an unscripted, open conversation about your vision for D9 and the City. Please mark your calendar and join us – and bring along a friend or neighbor!

The Jefferson County PVA office is extending the property reassessment appeal deadline to May 29th at 4:00 p.m. This gives property owners an additional 8 days to file a property appeal.  The PVA has also expanded staff assistance to include the Crescent Hill Library, 2762 Frankfort Avenue.  The PVA will now have staff on hand to assist residential property owners in completing the PVA online property appeal.

The PVA office is open weekdays from 8a-4p for property owners who choose to come downtown.  The office will be closed for the Memorial Day Holiday weekend May 23-25. The PVA office is located at 531 Court Place (Fiscal Court Bdg.) Suite 501.

Property Owners who don’t want to come downtown can now go to the Crescent Hill Library for assistance during the hours below.

• Thursday, May 21 from 10a-5p
• Friday, May 22 from 10a-4p
• Monday, May 25 – Memorial Day – OFFICES ARE CLOSED
• Tuesday, May 26 from 10a-5p
• Wednesday, May 27 from 10a-4p
• Thursday, May 28 from 10a-5p
• Friday, May 29 from 10a-4p

Property owners who disagree with their 2015 assessment must provide documentation to support their opinion of value and file the online conference appeal form at www.jeffersonpva.ky.gov. The neighborhood sales research tool is located on the PVA website at www.jeffersonpva.ky.gov and is available free of charge during the Open Inspection Period which ends on May 29th at 4:00 p.m. 

The PVA premium service website service is available free of charge year round at all Louisville Free Public Libraries.

As an affordable housing advocate at City Hall, I was very pleased to see Mayor Fischer’s announcement of Louisville CARES (Louisville Creating Affordable Residences for Economic Success) last week.   Working families across Louisville have an enormous need for affordable housing and this is an important step in meeting that need.    

The program will create a $10 million to $11 million revolving loan pool through Develop Louisville’s Office of Housing and Community Development. Develop Louisville is the real estate and planning arm of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government.  Another $1 million will be set aside for the purchase of land near major employment centers, allowing residents quick travel between home and work. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Board of which I sit on as the Metro Council representative, will assist in developing and administering the loan program.

While we still have a lot of work to do to make safe, decent and affordable housing available to Louisville’s working families, Louisville CARES is an historic step in the right direction.  

A great sustainability practice is shopping and eating locally and what better way to do that than to buy local food, direct from local suppliers.   It’s easy in District 9, which is home to the St.  Matthews Farmers Market, voted “Best in Louisville” by Louisville Magazine in 2011 and designated “Number One Urban Market” in the state of Kentucky. 

The market is located at Beargrass Christian Church, 4100 Shelbyville Road – at the corner of Browns Lane and Shelbyville Road – across from the “old Sears building.”  It opened for the season on May 9 and runs every Saturday from 8:00 am to Noon through October 10.  The market’s very informative and up-to-date website is here: http://smfarmersmarket.com/.  

Market manager Dale Mercker says the market boasts up to 70 vendors and is run to be a gathering for people in the community to come by and buy local produce but also to visit and be with friends and neighbors. 

We’ll feature others markets in D9 later in the summer but, for now, see you in St. Matthews on Saturday mornings.

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

Field Elementary School, on Sacred Heart Lane in Crescent Hill, celebrated its 100th anniversary on Saturday and a big crowd turned out to see the school and reminisce.  Pictured here are 95-year-old John Treitz, who began school at Field in 1925, and current second grader Taj Cederholm, the oldest and youngest speakers at the event. The Courier-Journal’s Martha Elson wrote about Field’s history earlier this month:  http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/history/river-city-retro/2015/05/08/field-elementary-celebrates-th-anniversary/26999053/

While Field recognizes its history, it continues to excel.  Field has been recognized for academic excellence as a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School.  Among the faculty is Sarah Reed, 2015 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.   The school’s website is here:  http://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/schools/Elementary/Field/index.html                                

Congratulations to Field on 100 years.  Go Falcons! 

Insider Louisville By Sarah Kelley

Sometimes bureaucratic red tape can be good for news gathering, as evidenced by the Alcohol Beverage Notifications.

First up: A standalone structure in Clifton that’s housed a string of retail shops in recent years might soon become the latest dining concept on Frankfort Avenue.

An ABC application filed with Metro’s Department of Codes and Regulations indicates a business dubbed At the Italian Table seeks a “by the drink” liquor license at 2359 Frankfort Ave.

The woman behind the venture is Jean Stipo, aka Chef Gina Stipo, a Tuscan-trained chef who recently relocated to Louisville after “living in Tuscany for 13 years, where she owned a cooking school, coordinated culinary adventures and conducted food and wine tours,” according to her website, eccolacucina.com. (That’s Italian for “here in the kitchen,” FYI.)

Since moving to Louisville, Stipo has hosted a dinner series, called At the Italian Table, in her Crescent Hill home, in addition to conducting cooking classes around town.

Stipo tells IL her new brick-and-mortar operation will offer private, reservation-only dinners for around eight to 10 guests, in addition to Italian charcuterie-style lunches. Plus, she plans to offer cooking classes in a kitchen that’s set to be installed next month — after she returns from a trip to Italy. To read the entire article click here.

Louisville Metro Police Department officers will soon be equipped with body cameras and the program begins in the Fifth Division, which includes Metro Council District 9. We’ll be hosting a public meeting on the program on Tuesday, June 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Field Elementary School, 120 Sacred Heart Lane.

WFPL reporter Jacob Ryan reported what you need to know about Louisville Metro Police’s Body Cameras on May 14, 2015.

“Louisville Metro Police officers in the Fifth Division will begin wearing body cameras in June.

About 100 officers in the division will be the first in the department to wear body cameras in the field. The pilot program in the Fifth Division is expected to last about 45 days, and then the body camera program will expand to other divisions, said Chief Steve Conrad.

Louisville Metro Police has been looking to outfit officers with body cameras since about 2012. Earlier this week, the department placed an order for 988 cameras from TASER, a company that specializes in law enforcement equipment.

On Thursday, city and police officials outlined specifics of how the program will be funded and what will be expected of officers wearing the cameras.” To read the entire article click here.

The Metro Air Pollution Control District’s Lawn Care for Cleaner Air program offers rebates up to $100 to residents who buy new electric lawn care equipment. Rebates are higher for buyers who trade in or recycle gasoline powered equipment. Standard rebates up to $50 apply to buyers who do not recycle old equipment. To qualify for a higher rebate, buyers must bring the old equipment to Public Works for recycling. It accepts gasoline, electric and human powered lawn maintenance equipment and replacement batteries year round.

Vouchers can be presented to participating retailers for instant rebates (the voucher must be obtained prior to the purchase), or submitted to APCD along with the purchase receipt for mail-in rebates. The program is open to Jefferson County residents only. Proof of residency (i.e. a driver’s license) must be provided to the participating dealer when purchasing new equipment or to APCD when submitting a mail-in rebate request. Only new or factory reconditioned purchases qualify for rebates. Only one rebate will be issued for each piece of equipment purchased.

The old equipment should be taken to one of the recycling centers listed below, before you purchase your new equipment if you are buying from a participating retailer.

• Metro Recycling Center #1, 595 Hubbards Lane, accepting lawn equipment year round, Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, 896-1293.
• Metro Recycling Center #2, 7219 Dixie Highway, accepting lawn equipment March through September, Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, 933-5682.
• Metro Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriwether Ave., accepting lawn equipment March through September, Wednesday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturday 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, 574-2887. Batteries are accepted year-round, same hours. 

Metro Recycling centers will only accept mowers that are drained of all oil and gasoline. For a list of participating dealers, visit www.louisvilleky.gov/government/lawn-care-cleaner-air/participating-dealers. If you have questions about the rebate program please call 574-5322.

Metro Public Works is in the midst of regular street sweeping season. Successful street sweeping requires the cooperation of city residents with moving their vehicles from the streets to be swept as directed by posted signs. Street cleaning signs are posted prior to 5 p.m. on the business day before the operation. They alert residents that there is No Parking between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on sweeping day.  Vehicles parked in No Parking areas are subject to citation and/or towing. Unfortunately, more than 3,400 such citations have been issued since street sweeping began on March 15.

Residents should not park in affected areas until after 5 p.m., even if it appears an area has been swept, as sweepers may return before that time. East/west streets are cleaned together on different days from north/south streets to allow residents to find alternate parking. The No Parking zone covers both sides of the street, though signs may only be posted on one side.

If you feed and care for unowned community cats, now is the time to get them fixed. Appointments are available now with no waiting. Thanks to grants from ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, and Petsmart Charities, appointments are currently available at no cost to caretakers, but donations are happily and gratefully accepted! Kitty will receive the best veterinary care of his life ... he'll be spayed/neutered, vaccinated, treated for fleas and earmites and get great veterinary care. Fixing your cats prevents unwanted pregnancies. It also reduces or eliminates roaming, fighting, urine marking and other objectionable behaviors. Call today at (502) 634-8777 to get started.